Caught in the Crowd
by Dekkasaurus
Summary: Marceline and Bonnibel decide to converse for the first time. Their friendship strengthens over the days; however, tragedy strikes. [One shot] [Modern school AU]


**I wrote this last night to jog up my mind, but in the end I went to asleep after this. This is a modern AU one shot, based around the Bubbline concept. Trigger warning.**

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It started with a sunny day that had a swift breeze; a perfect day after a week of chilly mornings and monstrous winds.

The two girls rode side-by-side; the raven-haired girl on a crimson motorbike and the chick with the pink hair on a black and silver mountain bike.

Not once did the two students realise that they could converse. Yet every morning, they transported themselves to high school on the same roads in total silence. The only sounds were the birds tweeting their morning greetings and the whistle of the wind whirling through their ears.

Once they'd arrive at school, they would go their own ways; the girl in black towards a lonely and dark corner to spend time with herself, and the other towards a small group of friends that would hang around the library.

Never once did the mysterious woman with the beauty of a vampire attempt to talk to the one that smelled of bubblegum; they weren't in any of the same classes, and they had different views on who was their friend.

However, one day, the pink chick had enough of their silence on their daily bike-rides, and murmured a question to the other girl.

"What is your name?"

The submissive female parked her motorbike and turned to face the other girl with a stunned expression glued on her face. Her pupils then slowly traced down the cyclist's body and ended up staring at the concrete floor like it was the most interesting paving she'd ever seen.

Her lips moved ever so slightly and a whisper as quiet as the breeze escaped.

"… Marceline."

The other girl smiled, looking like the sweetest lass ever. "Bonnibel."

And then she took off to her friends, whilst the other girl stood by herself, gobsmacked at the sudden means to communicate. No one ever tried to communicate with her; and so, she made a resolution to know this girl she rode with everyday.

The only times when Marceline got the chance to chat with Bonnibel were on their morning rides. She'd get up early when the sun had just risen, and take off in the daybreak. She'd wait for the cyclist to ride to her street, and then she'd journey by her side.

Bonnie noticed the other girl's fascination in communicating with her, which she found odd, as they had _never _spoken to each other before. Whilst they had their morning banters, she'd study Marceline's figure and personality. She was quite a tall chick that had jet-black hair that trailed down her spine and curled at her tailbone. She was very slim, and her skin was as pale as the moonlight that shone through Bonnie's window frequently.

She was also shy, and had trouble showing emotions and spitting out her words when she was hiding something she was worried about. It was only when Bonnibel was asking prying questions that squirmed into her brain that she'd answer, choking on her English and ending up speaking gibberish.

And once again, when they'd arrive at school, they'd part to different directions. But every time Bonnibel was walking away, she could hear students throwing insults such as, "You're weird, emo," at Marceline, and started feeling sorry for her. But she'd turn around, and see the girl shrugging, not showing any signs of denial.

It was becoming more often when Bonnie would see the other girl trudging around the outskirts of the school's premises at breaks by herself. She didn't have anyone, and not one single person would come up to her and try to talk.

Except one. Bonnibel.

The only problem was that the pink-haired chick would never wander up to the other lass during breaks; she was too engulfed in her group's conversations. And so, she'd always watch Marceline walking by herself, but do nothing about it. Not until the next morning.

Bonnie didn't realise it, but Marceline thought of her as her only friend, the only person who cared about her. And during their conversations as they made their way to school, the raven-haired girl would bond more and more to the other woman.

They'd talk about their lives at home. Marceline would contribute by telling stories about her father and how he'd treat her like some lowlife. She told Bonnie about the time when he'd stolen her own goods, but not once did he care, even after he'd seen her balling her eyes out. Apparently their father and daughter relationship needed working on; they were always fighting.

Bonnibel didn't say much of her family. Instead, she'd talk about her past life in her previous school, and how she lived a life of glory with one best friend that she'd never replace.

On other mornings, the two friends would talk about music. Marceline once brought her bass to school and strummed a soft tune from one of her favourite songs. She'd talk about all the music that made her emotions come to life before they'd perish and hide away from the outside world.

Bonnie, on the other hand, rarely talked of music; she didn't have much of a taste for the beautiful sounds. But once Marceline had started playing her own covers of songs, she became intrigued with her style and genre of music.

Even though they had bonded quite a bit since their first encounter, Bonnie remained hidden from Marceline during school time.

However, one afternoon, the pink-haired girl grabbed her bike and was about to cycle off, but found Marceline's motorbike still parked where it usually was. The other girl always left school before Bonnibel, and she became curious as to why her red bike was standstill.

Close by, on the pathway that led to the carpark, she saw a girl with sleek black hair surrounded by three men.

"Go away Ash," Bonnie heard the distant growl of her acquaintance.

Marceline.

She saw the tall brute extend his arms and shove her, making her trip to the ground and landing on her knees in the cemented path. Ash's two friends stole her backpack which had fallen with her, and tipped it's contents onto the ground and threw the bag into a tree.

"Why don't you just kill yourself, you little shit?" Ash sneered, clenching his hands into fists, looking like he was about to strike Marceline in the face.

"Nobody likes you," one of his friends snarled, flashing his teeth in a menacing manor.

"You have no friends," the other one barked, joining in on the 'fun'.

"I do have friends!" Marceline snapped defensively. She fidgeted and swung around, looking for other students to support her. Her eyes danced around her surroundings, desperately looking for other signs of life. And then she focused on Bonnie, who was watching from a distance.

She tried standing up off her bloodied knees, but the gang just pushed her back down, and she landed on her back with a grunt.

Her eyes widened, and she looked so afraid.

"Bonnie!" she cried out, tears welling up and almost escaping from her eyes. Bonnibel saw the fear painted on Marceline's face, and she was about to take a step towards her friend, but stood still. The three boys turned around and faced Bonnie with dark scowls plastered on their faces.

And that was when Bonnie made her move.

She took a step back, shook her head, turned around, and walked away. Walked away from the desperate calls for help by her friend in need. The shock on Marceline's face was so distressed; so _hurt_.

But Bonnibel chose to do nothing, and placed her feet on the pedals of her bike and rode off into the upcoming dusk.

And all the while, Marceline's abusers continued shoving the lass around until the sun had disappeared behind trees. They laughed their heads off, and took off on their bikes and left her on the school grounds, wounded seriously. She had multiple bruises over her body, a bloody nose, scraped knees and a deep red mark on her cheek where she'd been slapped. She told herself not to cry, to just suck it up and go home.

But she broke into tears the second she tried to stand up. She was so hurt, more so emotionally than physically. Her only _friend_ had left her in a time in need.

Tears crawled down her cheeks, leaving trails of mascara on her damaged face. She limped over to her motorbike, insisting on getting back home. And so, she travelled back to the only safe place she knew in the approaching darkness.

It was 6:43pm when Marceline finally reached her driveway. She sighed, her lip trembling and eyes watering.

_Pull yourself together._

She quietly opened the door and slipped through, not wanting to attract attention from her father. Unfortunately, he was standing right behind her.

"Where have you been?" Hudson growled lowly like a wolf warding off intruders. Marceline didn't turn around to face her father; she knew he'd be too interested in her wounds. And so, she kept her back to him and mumbled a response.

"Went for a walk."

Hudson cocked an eyebrow, but believed her anyway. She scurried away from her father's hands and hid in her room, letting the tears fall again.

It was 10:56 when she decided that she could no longer deal with this event. She was shaking in bed, trying to sooth her nerves by listening to calm songs, but they made her only sadder. She had been alone in this world for so long, and to be abandoned by the only person she thought she could call a friend hurt _so _much.

She couldn't handle it anymore.

She couldn't handle the loneliness.

She couldn't handle the abuse from her ex.

She couldn't handle the insults that students screamed at her.

She couldn't handle her emotions.

She just couldn't.

And so, Marceline squeaked her bedroom door open, trying to make less noise than a mouse. She tiptoed into the hallway, creaking the floorboards even with her precautious stepping. She exited the house through he backdoor and made her way over to the shed. Being careful to not make to much noise, she slid through the doorway and turned the light on.

The shed was small, but it bundled many different things, ranging from garden machinery to automobile parts. And then Marceline saw it, the very item she was looking for.

She grabbed the handle and pulled the object into her lap. She took a deep breath, readying herself for her next move. Her hands were trembling and breathing was shaky, despite spending hours trying to calm herself. She failed.

Her finger crawled along the body of the object, feeling it's every groove. It came to rest in a hole, and fidgeted nervously. She heaved the mass between her legs so it was facing upwards, resting the barrel under her chin.

Her eyes watered, and she knew these were her last moments.

_Bonnie… How could you do this to me?_ She cried out in her mind.

She closed her eyes and twitched her finger on the trigger.

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**This fanfic was based off Kate Miller-Heidke's song, _Caught in the Crowd_. I hope you enjoyed (or not, I understand).**


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